Maigh Seola

Beyond the Mearing Wall: Traditional
Irish Songs from Galway and Mayo

Own label SeoCD001; 43 minutes; 2004

Amhráin
Mhuighe Seola
is a collection of songs from Galway and Mayo which were gathered together by a
Mrs Costelloe (Bean Uí Choisdealbha) of Tuam and published by Dublin’s Talbot
Press in 1923. According to the pianist and composer Carl Hession the
collection “was one of the first publications of Irish songs which included the
text and the music as well as translations and notes”. Hession’s Aunt Maggie
was one of Mrs Costelloe’s contributors and the pianist himself included several
songs from the collection, sung by Seosamh Ó Flatharta, on his album Ceol
Inné Ceol Inniu.

Now comes one of the most
intriguing albums so far released this year, Maigh Seola’s Beyond the
Mearing Wall which is almost entirely devoted to material from Amhráin
Mhuighe Seola. (By the way, a “mearing wall” is apparently “the boundary
marking the divide between two neighbouring lands”.) The band itself is a
sextet consisting of singer Bríd Dooley, harper and singer Áine Sheridan,
Caoimhín Ó Sé on flute, whistles and vocals, fiddler and viola player Patricia
Kelly, cellist Liz Barry and, perhaps the best known, Jacqueline McCarthy on
concertina, aided occasionally by the guitar of producer Garry Ó Briain.

Together
they create one of the most delightful sounds this reviewer has heard for some
time. In part, the reason lies in the sheer quality of the singing on Beyond
the Mearing Wall. Bríd Dooley possesses one of those wonderful voices
capable of swooping and soaring like a lark while both Caoimhín and Áine are
excellent vocalists too, as they amply demonstrate on the macaronic Slán
agus Beannacht le Buaireamh an tSaoil. However, it’s Bríd who takes most of
the leads and, ultimately, steals the show, particularly on a lively rendition
of An Raicín Álainn and a sumptuous version of Brídin Bhéasaigh

These
vocal triumphs are supported by utterly gorgeous arrangements while the band
demonstrates its instrumental prowess on sets of tunes (obviously not from Amhráin
Mhuighe Seola) such as Maigh Seola (composed by the uilleann piper
Ger Fahy) and a set of jigs, The Shady Groves of Piedmont/The Humours
of Ennistymon drawn from the Clare Concertinas album by Bernard
O’Sullivan and Tommy McMahon – the last-named tune was a favourite of
Jacqueline’s late father, Tommy McCarthy. The combination of cello, harp and
viola sometimes gives the album a Baroque flavour, as on the introduction to
the love song Go dTagfaidh an Nollaig, and this simply adds to the
atmosphere of a splendidly successful album.

That
success is also the product of clear as a mountain stream engineering and
production by, respectively, Kenny Ralph and Garry Ó Briain, but also by the
band’s and Ó Briain’s consummate arrangements. If there is a criticism, and it
is only a slight one, it is that Bríd Dooley’s rendition of the closing track, Moll
Dubh an Ghleanna, is a little too florid and sails rather too close to
Cathy Jordan territory, but that, after all, is only a personal view and Bríd
certainly more than makes up for it elsewhere.

Interestingly,
the album has been sponsored by not only Galway Rural Development and Galway
County Council, but by local businesses and individuals too. You’d be
well-advised to support their excellent judgment.